Union government’s indifference towards protesting wrestlers is baffling

Imagine if Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh — accused by seven women, including a minor, of sexual harassment — was not a Member of Parliament belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — how would have the law caught up with him? Would there have been propaganda unleashed against those who have accused him by labelling them ‘anti-government’?

In a cruel sense, Singh is lucky that he belongs to the BJP, because otherwise he might have even been in jail by now. Even a Supreme Court intervention has not prompted the Delhi Police to arrest him.

Instead of feeling ashamed, he is holding press conferences, accusing the Congress and wrestlers of conspiring against him to discredit him.

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This is symptomatic of the malaise which has inflicted the police system (and even threatens the judicial system), which, if allowed to continue, can lead to its collapse. It smacks of partisanship of the highest order, and exposes the hypocrisy of a government which gloats about its programme focused on the girl child: Beti Padao, Beti Bachao. This also reflects the fact that some of those who take great pride in the Hindu ethos of very exalted status of women and quote the shloka, ‘yatra naryastu pujyante, ramante tatra devata’ (where women are honoured, divinity blossoms there) are duplicitous in practice.

In case of sexual harassment, the law is explicit that the word of the woman is sufficient to arrest the accused. A sexual harassment charge is criminal in nature, and the wheels of justice should have moved immediately; instead, the government formed a committee led by renowned boxer Mary Kom to probe the allegations. This could have been justified if intent of the government was to get to the bottom of the matter to cleanse the system, and put things in order so that no women athlete would face the same ignominy in future. Unfortunately, the intent was to find a political solution. The strategy did not work, and it is not surprising that the athletes are unhappy with the conduct of the Union government.

The Union government has further exposed itself by not making public the findings of the committee report, which was submitted in first week of April. Babita Phogat, a member of the committee, has alleged that she was not allowed to read the report, and that the report was snatched away from her before she could glance through. If true, this further increases the intentions of the government. If the government was serious about the problem, it should have not only published the report, but also acted by now.

Dissatisfied with the government’s response, the protesting wrestlers knocked on the Supreme Court’s door, where the Delhi Police unashamedly has said that if the court desired an FIR could be lodged the same day itself. It took four months and prodding from the top court for the Delhi Police to file two FIRs, both naming Singh.

It is obvious that the police is not interested in pursuing this case — but what is it that makes it so brazen?

Ideally, the police should have arrested Singh in January itself. But two things worked for him. One, he is a BJP MP who is supposedly very close to a powerful minister in the Union Cabinet. Two, he belongs to the politically-powerful community of the Rajputs. The Rajputs in Uttar Pradesh are very influential, and the BJP does not want to upset the community. Singh himself is a seasoned leader, and can impact electoral fortunes of the BJP in four/five Lok Sabha seats around Gonda district.

A third reason is that the Delhi Police is allegedly a compromised force. Many senior officers in it are either eyeing post-retirement sinecures or are those who toe the government’s ideological line without questioning. These police officers either do not take cognisance of complaints/cases against the ruling alliance, or when it does, it is not in a hurry to do its job.

A few years back when a few masked men and women unleashed violence in front of the TV cameras in JNU and later, when a few were identified as ABVP activists by a TV channel, the Delhi Police did precious little. More than a dozen Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs and leaders were arrested on frivolous charges. In most cases the courts were livid about the way the investigation was carried out. Most of them were exonerated by the courts. In the past, the police has not taken notice of the provocative statements made by BJP leaders such as Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Kapil Mishra. Serious allegations were levelled against the Delhi Police during the 2020 Delhi riots in which 53 persons lost their lives (two-third of which were Muslims). During the investigations into the riots even lawyers who were helping the Muslim community were intimidated, and their houses were raided.

It is not surprising that the Delhi Police has not taken any action based on the wrestlers’ complaint. What is surprising is its audacity. Despite the apex court’s intervention, it is disinclined to arrest Singh. This is not possible unless the Delhi Police has clear instructions from up the hierarchy. Is it a coincidence that the Delhi Police reports to the Union government and Amit Shah is the Home Minister?

(Ashutosh is Editor, Satyahindi, and author of 'Hindu Rashtra'. Twitter: @ashutosh83B)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.